Josh Shaw’s story drawing more than sports interest

USC’s opener is Saturday against Fresno State.

But the conversation on the sideline at Brian Kennedy-Howard-Jones field isn’t about football.

It’s about Josh Shaw.

And the chatter is going far beyond routine sports coverage.

Wednesday morning’s practice drew an estimated 50 members of the media -- about 30 more than usual -- to hear from USC Coach Steve Sarkisian. The throng included representatives from “Today,” “Good Morning America” and “Inside Edition,” a USC spokesperson said.

The university released Shaw’s heroic story Monday and it was related by The Times, but Sarkisian followed on Tuesday by saying he received calls questioning the story’s veracity and needed to continue to vet it.

But the narrative already took off on a national scale.

Shaw was a trending topic on social media as the sports community called him a hero and the rest of the country chimed in.

Now, questions continue to circle if Shaw is still, in fact, a hero.

And the crowd at practice continues to grow.

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